Let’s be honest: TikTok helped win the 2024 election for President Trump and the GOP.
You can scoff, roll your eyes, or call it a dancing app — but the numbers don’t lie. TikTok worked. To win in 2026 and beyond, Republicans must support a deal to secure TikTok and protect this channel to keep reaching Gen Z voters.
I watched its impact firsthand. As someone who advised the campaign on youth strategy, I pushed hard to make sure we met young voters where they actually are: social media. Backstage before a rally, I told President Trump directly: get on TikTok.
Not next month — now.
He listened. The result? Millions of views, real momentum, and a whole new generation of young voters fired up for America First.
I can already hear some conservatives clutching their pearls — “Isn’t TikTok the enemy?” Maybe. But the way I put it to the President was simple: if we boycott Gen Z’s primary platform, we’re handing it to the Left.
Over 39% of adults under 30 now say they regularly get news from TikTok. Among users with TikTok accounts, more than half — 52% — use it for news, according to the Columbia Journalism Review. Just five years ago, that number was only 3%. In early 2025, it’s 17% of all U.S. adults and rising fast. Ignore that audience, and we lose.
And let’s be clear: the Left isn’t ignoring it. They’ve spent years building an army of influencers, feeding curated narratives, and dominating the platform without a fight from us.
While legacy media stayed glued to cable news, we turned our phones into megaphones. Gen Z creators and conservative voices explained policy in plain English, exposed liberal hypocrisy, and made our values cool again. For the first time in years, we didn’t just survive the culture war — we won it online.
That didn’t come from think tanks or TV ads. It came from memes, reels, and TikToks that actually spoke our language — opinionated, punchy, funny, and shareable. And that’s how Gen Z consumes news: 84% of TikTok users see humorous takes, and 80% encounter opinion content, not traditional journalism.
Now the question is: are we smart enough to keep doing it? Or are we about to repeat the same mistake we made in 2022 — showing up last minute, playing defense, and wondering why young voters didn’t know what we stood for?
2026 may feel far away, but TikTok moves at the speed of swipe. If we wait until next fall to start talking to Gen Z, we’re already too late.
We need to act now — with smart, scroll-stopping content that’s authentic, consistent, and creative. Gen Z doesn’t read press releases. We don’t have cable. But we’ll spend hours on TikTok without blinking — and that’s where minds and votes are won.
This isn’t about selling a message — it’s about owning the story.
President Trump and the GOP passed the Big Beautiful Bill, cut taxes on tips, defended the border, strengthened work requirements, and protected energy jobs. But if we don’t talk about it clearly and constantly, the Left will erase it and rewrite the narrative.
We lose when we let our opponents dominate the apps while we debate whether it’s “professional” to make a TikTok.
We win by building on Trump’s 2024 digital momentum, investing in young conservative creators, and treating TikTok like the political weapon it is.
Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune: if we want to hold the House, expand the Senate, and elect unapologetic America First leaders, securing TikTok is not optional.
It’s how we reach the voters who just helped deliver 2024.
Gen Z delivered. Let’s give them the tools to do it again.
Brilyn Hollyhand is a 19-year-old political commentator, bestselling author of “One Generation Away: Why Now is the Time to Restore American Freedom”, and host of “The Brilyn Hollyhand Show”. For more of his hot takes you can follow him on socials @Brilyn Hollyhand or visit BrilynHollyhand.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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